Property management: it's a living.

How many property managers knew as children that as adults they were going to be managing agents? I would hazard to guess that not many of us would have chosen this as our career path. Is there any one who awoke one morning and decided this was their life's calling? Unless your father or uncle owned a firm and you were "born into the business", you just sort of fell into it.

As a child I didn't dream of the glories of the property management profession. I never saw a movie where Henry Fonda or Jimmy Stewart were building agents and to venture a guess I doubt that Harrison Ford or Tom Cruise will star in one in the future. Nor have I ever read a book where the protagonist was a dedicated property professional. The few times our profession has ever been portrayed the words greely and corrupt are somewhere in the description.

Well let's face it we are not a sexy bunch. We don't perform brain surgery and gave new life to the patient. Nor do we win sensational murder trials and save an innocent man from prison or worse. We don't go around arresting people and protecting the public from menace. The elements of good and evil are missing from our work a day life. Could you imagine Arnold or Bruce as salespersons and being asked to save the world. I can't.

When my kids were smaller and I brought them to the office they were bored by 10 after nine. Occasionally when they went with me to properties they were impressed only with operating the freight elevator. I don't think I was ever successful in explaining to them what I did for a living. In their minds it boiled down to driving around and making phone calls, which is not a highly exciting profession. As a kid when I went with my father to work I saw him mix drinks as a bartender, cook in the kitchen. and wait on tables. As a young child I washed dishes and glasses, struggled with cases of soda and beer, sat in dark surroundings and listened to live music being played on a piano or by combos. That was excitement.

When I was a younger property manager and noticed that I was getting to big for my britches, I would stop and remind myself what I actually did for a living. Immediately I knew that I could not take myself too seriously. No one was going to die regardless of what I did. The world wouldn't come to an end if I made a mistake. The future of the free world did not depend on me.

This does not mean our profession is not important or that we don't perform a needed service to society. Quite the contrary we are the people who manage hundreds of billions of dollars of real estate in this country. We are responsible for making sure that people have a decent home and work place. Owners look to us to help them receive a return on their investments.

So this means I address what I do for a living with seriousness but not myself seriously. I always do my best at work, but never take the job home with me. I try not to loose my temper except on purpose and always remain cool. The impossible will never be accomplished no matter what you do. While, except in emergencies, never act in haste and never in anger. I try to use the "48 Hour Rule" when answering letters of complaint.

I think in the scheme of things Americans attach way too much importance to our occupations. Characteristically we see ourselves in what we do instead of who we are. When we meet someone new our first question is usually "And what do you do" instead of "How do you do." Since we are so immersed in job status we inflate our own job importance in order to impress others as well as ourselves.

To paraphrase Rodney Dangerfield our profession gets no respect. Perhaps that is not such a bad thing. There are quite a few fields in America that have the same problem such as trash haulers, porters and plumbers. All necessary for the functioning of society, but all under respected. We are lucky in a way since we are paid better than they and thus we are allowed into polite society.

Just like scores of other occupations, while not celebrated, we are needed. And while we never will be portrayed as glamorous, it's an honest way of providing for our families. So when listening to others describe their livelihood and it's importance - I want to try to remember not to take them or myself too seriously.

(Tom Capenni is a real estate consultant advising owners co-ops and condominiums. To contact him, call 212-921- 8043.)